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Alcohol Legal Information

Drinking and the Law
Drinking and Driving
So what will happen if I'm "over the limit"?
How much is it safe to drink and drive?

Alcohol and crime go together in a big way -almost a third of people on probation, and two thirds of those in prison, have drink problems that were at least partly responsible for their offences; young heavy drinkers are more likely to commit minor crimes of violence and to be the victims of crime; about a quarter of violent offences and disorderly behaviour happen in or near licensed premises; almost half of these incidents happen shortly after pub closing times especially on Friday or Saturday nights; and alcohol is a big factor in domestic violence.

This doesn't mean that all drinkers are potential criminals. But it does mean that if you regularly get drunk, you are more likely to commit a crime or be the victim of crime, especially assaults, than someone who drinks moderately.

A fairly new 'alcohol crime' is illegally importing alcohol from abroad. There are limits on the amount of wine and spirits you can bring into this country without paying duty but you're allowed to bring in unlimited amounts of beer from Europe provided it's for your own personal use.

Loading up a Transit with cheap French beer and bringing it back to sell over here has become big business. If you come back from Europe with your car or van full of beer, you may have to persuade the Customs in this country that it really is for your own use. 'Own use' can include buying drink for a party or wedding reception and that's OK as long as the people drinking it do not have to pay anything for it. And you can't get round that by charging an admission fee and not charging for the drinks.

But if there's evidence that you're importing alcohol for resale you can be prosecuted for smuggling and evasion of duty. These are serious offences with heavy penalties and any vehicle you use for smuggling can be confiscated, even if it does not belong to you.

Drinking and the Law

The law has a lot to say about alcohol and it's very complex. These pages just give an outline: if you want to know more look at the links page for web sites that have more detail.

The law sets out to protect people and society, especially children and young people aged under eighteen, from the worst effects of alcohol. It does this by saying that alcohol can be sold only in 'licensed premises'. These are places like pubs, clubs, supermarkets, off-licences and other shops that have been given a licence to sell alcohol during 'Licensing Hours'.

The law also controls who can buy and drink alcohol, and when and where. (Slightly different rules apply to 'Registered Clubs'. Not all Clubs are Registered. Usually Golf and Social Clubs are but some are 'Licensed'. The sale and supply of alcohol in 'Registered Clubs' is controlled by the Club Rules.)

The law on alcohol depends on how old you are and the main points for under-18s are -

It is illegal to give alcohol to a child under five years of age. It is not actually illegal for children over the age of five to drink alcohol at home or in public.
If you are under 14 you can go into a bar up to, usually, 9 pm provided there is someone aged 18 or over with you and the bar has a Children's Certificate. Very few places have these certificates at the moment.
If you are 14 or over you can go into licensed premises but you must not buy or drink alcohol.
If you are 16 or 17 years old you can drink beer or cider with a meal in a restaurant, (including a restaurant that is part of a pub, but not in the bar).
Other than beer or cider with a meal, if you are under 18 you must not buy, or attempt to buy, alcohol. This applies everywhere - in pubs, clubs, off-licences and shops, and other people must not buy alcohol for you.
If you are under 18 it is an offence to be in possession of alcohol in the street. The police can confiscate any alcohol they find in these circumstances.
If you are under 18 you must not work in a pub or in other licensed premises.

Once you are 18 none of these restrictions apply, apart from not buying alcohol for people who are underage. But there are still a lot of restrictions on your use of alcohol. Here are the most important ones.

It is illegal to -

be drunk and incapable or drunk and disorderly in a public place or on licensed premises.
be drunk in charge of a child aged under 7.
buy alcohol for someone who is already drunk.

'Drunk and incapable' means that you are so drunk you are unable to stand or walk or unaware of what you are doing or unable to understand what is said to you. 'Drunk and disorderly' could include shouting and swearing, threatening other people or damaging property.

If you are drunk, you can be refused entry to licensed premises or be made to leave. If you are convicted of an offence committed in licensed premises involving violence you can be banned from those premises.

If you are arrested for being drunk and incapable, you have no 'previous' and you are not 'disorderly', you will be taken to a police station and kept there until you are sober. This could mean a night in the cells and you will be woken up every half hour to make sure you are OK.

If arrested for being drunk and disorderly, again you will be taken to a police station and will probably appear in court the next day. If found guilty, you are likely to be fined.

If you committed any other offences while drunk, like threatening behaviour, assault or criminal damage, you are likely to be prosecuted for those too.

If you regularly cause a nuisance to other people, including neighbours, the courts can impose an Anti-Social Behaviour Order on you, which could stop you going to certain places or behaving in a certain manner. If you don't comply with the Order the courts can impose quite severe penalties.

Drinking and Driving

The laws about driving while under the influence of alcohol are strict, and are strictly enforced by the police and the courts.

The main points are -

You must not drive or attempt to drive any motor vehicle if you are unfit to do so through alcohol or if you have 80 milligrams or more of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
You must not refuse to provide a specimen of breath for testing on the street.
You must not refuse to provide a specimen of breath, blood or urine for testing at the police station. (If you can't take a breath test because of a medical condition, for example asthma, the police will get a doctor to confirm that. If you're 'trying it on' the doctor will soon find out and that will also count as a refusal).
You must not be 'in charge' of a motor vehicle while unfit through alcohol.

So what will happen if I'm "over the limit"?

The police can stop you and require you to take a breath test if they have reasonable cause to believe that -

you have been driving, or attempting to drive, with alcohol in your body; or
you have committed a moving traffic offence. (These include things wrong with your car, like lights not working, as well as the way you are driving, like speeding or just driving erratically or aggressively); or
you have been involved in an accident.

Once you have been stopped, if the police still believe you may have been drinking, they will require you to take a breath test. This involves blowing steadily through a tube into a device that measures the amount of alcohol in your breath. If you refuse, that is a serious offence for which the court can fine you and disqualify you from driving - even if you weren't over the limit in the first place.

The police officer can form the opinion that you have alcohol in your body after they have stopped you (they can smell it on your breath, your speech is slurred, etc.) and then require you to take a breath test.

If you can't or won't blow through the tube for long enough to give a reading, for example if you are too drunk to do so, that counts as a refusal or failure to provide.

If you take a breath test and you're not over the limit, you will probably be allowed to go on your way, although the police may take action over the defective light or driving offence for which they stopped you in the first place. If the test shows that you are over the limit you'll be arrested and taken to a police station where breath, blood or urine samples will be taken for testing. Again it's an offence to refuse to provide a sample. You won't be allowed to go back to your car until the police are satisfied that you are under the legal limit for driving.

If the breath test was only just over the limit, a blood or urine test may show that you are not over the limit for driving and you will not be prosecuted. But if you are over the limit you will appear in court and if found guilty - and practically everyone is - you will lose your driving licence for at least a year and be fined heavily or even sent to prison. The punishments are much greater if you have offended before or killed or injured anyone else, including passengers in your own vehicle - up to 10 years in prison for causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink (or drugs).

Afterward, you will find it very difficult and very expensive to get insurance cover and if your job involves driving you will probably lose it. Very occasionally the courts will not disqualify someone who needs to drive for work but these cases are few and far between and there have to be very special reasons.

If you refuse to provide a specimen, are convicted of being more than two and a half times over the legal limit (200 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood) or are convicted twice in ten years the courts will regard you as a high risk offender. You may have to convince a doctor that you do not have a drink problem before you can get your licence back.

Apart from the 'breath test' it's a separate offence to drive while under the influence of alcohol. So even if a breath test is negative, you can find yourself being arrested and in court if the police think your driving is affected by drink.

Being in charge of a 'carriage' while under the influence of alcohol is an offence and in this case 'carriage' can include a pedal cycle as well as a motor vehicle. You do not take a breath test when suspected of being 'drunk in charge of a carriage', it's based on the officer's opinion only. You don't actually have to be driving the vehicle to be in charge of it, just in a position to drive it, so, for example, if you're near your car with the keys in your pocket, you're 'in charge'. You're also in charge if you stop your car to 'sleep it off' when you've had too much to drink.

How much is it safe to drink and drive?

Everyone reacts differently to alcohol so it's impossible to state a limit that's safe for everyone. Research has shown that even very small amounts of alcohol affect people's judgement and make them more likely to make mistakes and have accidents while driving. The reason the law allows you to drive with some alcohol in your body is because the body makes alcohol automatically: therefore a zero or very low limit would mean that everyone who drove would be breaking the law.